Lula and Brazil’s “Big Center”

The Americas Quarterly Podcast

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has an approval rating of about 50%. Unemployment in the country is at its lowest level in a decade and the economy is expected to grow about 3% this year, beating forecasts from just a few months ago. But despite all that, in recent mayoral elections across the country, Lula's Workers’ Party (PT) finished ninth in the number of mayors elected. The big winners were politicians from the centrão, the so-called big center, a coalition of parties that range on the ideological spectrum from the center to the center right and right. These are also the parties that wield control in Brazil’s Congress. In this episode, an analysis of what these results suggest about Brazilian politics today, why the economy is seeing improvement and what is impacting growth potential. Our guest is Christopher Garman, managing director for the Americas, Eurasia Group.